Dear Students,

When I first started the semester, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Now that I am here, almost at the end of my first semester, I realize I learned a lot and that it wasn’t as hard or dreadful as you may expect. I enjoyed this semester very much with my classmates and professors. Everybody is helpful and has positive energy when dealing with situations that can be stressful in school. The professors are very fair when it comes to deadlines and understanding about influences that may hinder your ability to produce work. My best advice would be to let you know that nobody will nor should care more about your success in school than you. This is for your future and to do well will be to put yourself in a better, more comfortable position ultimately. Try to find a major that your interested in doing for a career because that is my major problem right now. It’s hard to choose something that you will do for the rest of your life, but just try different things if you have to. No matter what, if you’re in school, you’re learning and you know more to put towards any opportunities you may have. One thing thats different about college from high school is that you may have been able to get away with minimal work to graduate high school, but in college you are counted for everything and that means that you need to try your hardest on every aspect. Things like registering and making your schedule will make you more responsible and put into perspective how much of an independent accomplishment it is to go to college. When things get a little hard and cause a lot of stress, just know that it doesn’t last forever and if you do a good job at the end, there is no greater feeling. Be the best student and person you can be and only good will come of it. Use you’re resources given to you by City Tech to help you through your endeavors. Even though it is up to you to succeed, others want to see you succeed as well.

Ryan Hobe

I decided to use Barclay’s Center for my project because it is a remarkable place to begin with just by its presence. Once I heard some of the more interesting details of why it took so long to get built and what it’s being used for other than the obvious home of the Brooklyn Nets, I wanted to know more, so I did lots of research and all my questions were answered. The creator of the arena had a lot of drama surrounding him with the construction and public mistreatment. The recession caused the project to pause for an extended period of time and there was talk of it never getting finished. Now that it’s here, they use it for almost anything you can think of when it comes to entertainment. A lot of people take it for granted or almost resent it because of its short history, but I think that since we have it at our disposal, we should embrace it. If nothing else people in the area should be educated about it because it is a huge part of the community now, regardless. Now, when i think of the Barclay’s Center, I think of an enterprise, a luxury, a behemoth, and a focal point when at first it was only a basketball arena.

The Struggle for Barclay’s

The Barclays Center is a sports complex and holds home to businesses and residences, but there was huge controversy and many obstacles to overcome to make it happen. The center was erected in downtown Brooklyn, right by the Atlantic Terminal where the Long Island Railroad is stationed. The plot it was constructed on is called the Atlantic Yards. Here is the home of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and soon-to-be home of the NHL’s New York Islanders. There are many retail stores and businesses such as Calvin Kline and Emblem Health inside the massive structure. This place is mostly known for its sports affiliation, but it also holds other events such as circuses and concerts. Although there was controversy over what the land should be used for, everyone had Brooklyn’s best interest in mind and at heart. There were two opposing sides when it came to the new arena. One side was that of the people advocating to build the stadium to bring more attention and wealth to Brooklyn. The other side was against the project because of the losses the area had to undergo to make it possible.

Bruce Ratner is the owner of the company Forest City Ratner and they were in charge of the construction and planning for the stadium. When he came up with the idea to build a new home for the Nets here in Brooklyn that hadn’t had a professional sports team since the Dodgers left to Los Angeles after the 1957 baseball season, he undoubtedly had dollar signs in his eyes. This alone can make the public pause at his intentions. From a financial perspective, this is a genius move because this is the most accessible part of Brooklyn due to all the mass transit that passes through regularly. With the Atlantic Mall and all the local shopping, this was already considered the center of Brooklyn. Adding this attraction only makes it more of a destination and will attract more people that are already familiar with the area and maybe have become unimpressed with what was already there. In either case, there is money to be made. Mike Ozanian from Forbes Magazine wrote, “New York City recently appraised the Barclays Center–based on its potential income–to be worth $741 million.” Mr. Ratner wanted to take advantage of that opportunity and he succeeded in that tremendously. Charles Bagli of The New York Times said, “The Court of Appeals ruled 6 to 1 that the state could exercise eminent domain in claiming businesses, public property and private homes for economic development.” It wasn’t as easy as it sounds though, nor was it without opposition. There were many problems that arose from financing and backlash from the community.

The second perspective you could take from this situation is the one of the people who looked at Mr. Ratner as being immoral and inconsiderate of the consequences. This is because in order to follow through with his planning, they had to demolish many local residences and businesses to make room for the stadium that would take up almost the entire plot on the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. This situation would not effect Mr. Ratner directly, therefore he thought it more important to continue and be finished as soon as possible than to take too much time trying to make the public jump on board with his ideas. Without exercising the government’s right to seise the land, he would waste a lot of time and money just to get past all the lawsuits. He attempted to justify his demolition of housing by saying that he would build more high rises to make up for the losses. None of this is guaranteed of course but even the idea had critics bringing up the fact that traffic was already bad in that area and it would only get worse with this option. Not to mention that it could bring large debt to the area due to all the investment and effort put in. With all of this, the recession caused the project to pause with lack of financing. This shows instability and would only give the locals more reason to protest. Now that the economy has somewhat stabilized and more investors decided to help with its completion, it is here. There are plusses for the community, like more jobs and improvements to the surrounding area because Ratner would not allow Barclays to sit alone in a growing Brooklyn. The best example of why eminent domain is legal at all is because of the Supreme Courts ruling of the Kelo vs. New London case. Malcome Glagwell, a writer for the New York Times said, “Kelo involved a chronically depressed city clearing out a few houses so that Pfizer could expand a research and development facility.” This is much different from Ratner’s plan because the productivity was much more urgent to the public. It was a requirement that you had to build something that is for the public and that made the acquisition of the Nets vital to his plan.

Looking at the present, Barclay’s Center has been open for a little over a year and has done very well, being compared to the already very successful and arguably most well known arena in the country, Madison Square Garden. It has already grossed more profit in the short time it’s been open and gained support from all over the country. It is the most expensive arena in the country, but seems to be bringing in the money just as easily as it was spent. None of the housing that was promised by Ratner have been started yet which makes it seem like he has no interest in anything that doesn’t have to do with the growth and prosperity of Barclay’s, which seems to be doing just fine on its own. Hopefully in the future he will work towards making the local residents comfortable with the new structure of downtown Brooklyn because they are ultimately the ones most effected by it in the long run. After all, he is a real-estate developer, not a basketball fan.

Malcolm Gladwell, Sep 26, 2011, http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7021031/the-nets-nba-economics

Charles V. Bagli, New York Times, Nov. 24, 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/nyregion/25yards.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=atlanticyardsbrooklyn&adxnnlx=1385310423-glOotK/HRAIS+qxewO36Jg>

Mike Ozanian, Forbes Magazine, Sep 17, 2013 <http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2013/09/17/jay-z-set-to-get-1-5-millon-for-his-barclays-center-stake/>

“Eminent Domain.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eminent domain>.

Thesis Statement: The Barclays Center is a sports complex and holds home to businesses and residences, but there was huge controversy and many obstacles to overcome to make it happen.

Intro: The Barklays Center is a building erected close to downtown Brooklyn, right by the Atlantic Terminal where the Long Island Railroad is stationed. More info on its current state and what it’s used for.

Body 1: Controversy over land and the fact that to build the stadium, they had to knock down housing and local businesses. How project was delayed because of the recession.

Body 2: The use of eminent domain caused local residents to protest and businesses had to be shut down to make room.

Body 3: How The Barclays Center will become more popular and only gain more attention over its lifetime.

Conclusion: Thesis Statement. Why its important that it did work out for Brooklyn.

These letters other than their moral significance are very important to the history of Brooklyn and the country. Lucy was one of the first women to work in a job that was only given to men before they had no choice because of the draft. Since women began filling positions in every sector of the ship building industry, it showed that women can be just as productive as men and aren’t as fragile as previously believed. This was all before sexual equality but undoubtedly helped prove why the movement should move. Some of the links were for sites that had information about WWII and some were links for the Jewish community in Brooklyn because both Lucy and Alfred were Jewish. They tell us about its historical relevance and other people from that time and place that were relevant as well. This tells me that preservation is important because even if at the time it doesn’t seem that ground-breaking at the time. In the future people could learn from those experiences like Egan did from Lucy. The letters can help us relate because there is more personal material that can make it easier to understand who they are and that makes them seem more like regular people that we could be friends with in the present day. When you are interested in a person, you are definitely going to be more interested in what they have to say or have gone through.

Egan’s goal in finding these letters was to learn more about the Brooklyn Navy Yard during WWII and women’s involvement was much more than before the draft. She learned a lot from the letters because Lucy was writing about it from a first-hand account. She had a lot of detail and description to help Egan to find out what she needed to know. Her reading of the letters became more of a hobby and she was learning while also finding a friend in the past. Her relationship with Lucy is one-sided because she knows of Lucy but it is not likewise. It develops through Lucy’s letters that Egan discovered for a research project. She learns about her professional and personal life and cant help but become absorbed in every aspect of it. Egan conveyed Lucy’s story through her own essay using lots of quotes and citations from the letters themselves. This made me feel like i was somewhat reading the letters first-hand.

Today we started class by meeting in front of the school bookstore just like we did for the first visit to BHS. This time, instead of walking through the residential part of Brooklyn Heights and passing through the promenade, we walked straight through the square and down Montague. It is actually very close despite what our first visit lead us to believe. Once we got there, we went straight up the first flight of stairs to the Library. It was set up differently than the first visit because there were tables in the middle instead of just lined-up chairs. I asked Liz about this and she said that it was because somebody had rented the space prior to our first visit. We proceeded to get into our groups and await instruction. There were three maps on each table and they were very old, so they were encased in some plastic film that would keep its integrity. Although they were somewhat protected, we still had to be very careful lifting and moving them. No pencils were permitted near the maps, even to point. We were given a handout that had questions pertaining to the maps and the information they provided. There wasn’t enough time for all the maps because the class was only so long. Some groups also has people absent so they didn’t have as many eyes and input as others. We began to analyze these maps and answer the questions. My group was successful in answering the questions but had a little disagreement directionally about one of the maps. This shows the importance of a compass in any map. After we finished filling out our answers, we were unexpectedly told that we were to, as a group, provide an impromptu speech about the information we gathered. There were five groups and I believe each was successful in informing the class about the maps they had analyzed.

1-What is the map’s call number?

Pierrepont – [18-?] a. Fl

2-What is the map’s title (if available)?

Map Of Some Streets On Brooklyn Heights

3-Which collection does the map belong to?

Pierrepont

4-When was it made?

1800s

Physical description of the map:
5-What size is the map (approximately)?

1 1/2 ft. by 2 1/4 ft.

6-What colors does it use?

Black and white

7-What materials were used to make the map?

Parchment, black ink, and pencil.

8-Who made the map?

M.B.

Map content:
9-What location does the map depict?

Brooklyn Heights

10-What details does it include?

Properties, sizes, and streets.

11-What time period does the map depict? Is this the same as the time when it was made?

1800s, the same time the map was made

12-What is familiar to you about the location depicted in the map?

Fulton Street and Court Street

Interpretation and Reflection:
13-What is the purpose of the map?

To show properties and street locations

14-Why did it survive prior to becoming part of the archives at BHS?

Maybe the map was made by somebody of great importance or somebody decide it would be useful in the future.

15-Why did BHS incorporate it into its collections?

The map is of Brooklyn Heights and it is relevant to the society

16-What is familiar or unfamiliar about the map?

Court street, Fulton street, and Public Square are familiar. Some of the alley ways and other streets do not exist today.

17-What additional information would you want to better understand the map?

A legend, compass, and scale.

18-Where is City Tech in relation to this map?

City Tech is not on this map but if it showed you Northeast of Public square, it would just be a couple blocks away.

My first impression from looking at this cover for The New Yorker that was published March 29th 1976, is that this person had one view and one view only it seemed. We all know that there is much surrounding the city of New York, but this author seemed to exclude every other part of the world as far as detail is concerned. From 9th Avenue to the Hudson River, you can see every car, person, building, and even shadow. This is accurate  even down to the Westside Highway. Once your eyes cross the river, there is nothing but decollate land. There is nothing except for some large rocks and it almost seems as if New York just from 9th Avenue is about the same size as the rest of the world which we know is very inaccurate. This means, to me, that the write is very bias to New York and doesn’t think much of the rest of the world from how he portrayed it. From the title, I expected to see maybe a photograph or an illustrated drawing of a block from a 9th Avenue view. I did not expect this playfully one-sided drawing done with pencils, pen, and water color. I am not familiar with the magazine though. If I was I would have know that The New Yorker only uses Artists entries as their covers. Most are puns and are poking fun at some time-appropriate political/social commentary.